


My Beacon in the Dark

by B_G_Kuro



Category: Twin Peaks, Twin Peaks The Return - Fandom
Genre: F/M, I wanted to contribute to the fandom for us Dale and Audrey shippers!, Mention of rape but no reenactment, Moved from Mature to Explicit due to a lovemaking scene, My First Work in This Fandom, My interpretation of what happened after episode 18 of The Return, Romance, Spiritual, Spoilers for Twin Peaks The Return, metaphysical
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2019-01-15 09:11:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12318030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/B_G_Kuro/pseuds/B_G_Kuro
Summary: In the multiverse there are infinite outcomes and infinite choices. It is entirely up to us what paths we take.Timeframe: Before, after and around the conclusion of Twin Peaks The Return. And yes, this is a love story.





	1. The Shedding of the Past

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Archiving: Sure – with my permission!
> 
> Feedback: I love feedback if it is kind. : )
> 
> Author Notes: I did it. I have committed to writing a Twin Peaks fan fiction. My first. It has been five years since I wrote a fan fiction of any kind and I don’t know when I will write one again. Let’s just say that the stars aligned. This one really is kind of writing itself and I will be posting it chapter by chapter. It’s full of eastern, metaphysical concepts largely from Buddhism and Hinduism - so if this isn’t your thing my story might not be the fan fiction for you. There’s also some coffee and cherry pie, too. It wouldn’t be a Dale Cooper story without these things. It is also a story about love.
> 
> Many thanks to my husband who not only indulged me with my love affair with Twin Peaks, but also took the ride with me during The Return - first by binge watching the original series and Fire Walk with Me to adequately prepare before its first airing in May - and who then developed genuine affection for this universe. His support of my sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, horror, film noir and romance genre tendencies is unmatched. He is also my stalwart beta and proofreader. Well, here we go. Hang on tight!
> 
> Yours, B. G. Kuro

"Just as a snake sheds its skin, we must shed our past over and over again.”

\- Buddha

**Twin Peaks Police Station – Present Day**

Hawk calmly looked at the clock as it froze on 2:53 PM. “Now there are some things that will change. The past dictates the future,” Cooper had said. Hawk recognized that saying the moment he spoke - for it was woven into the verbal history of his people.

“Hawk, what does this mean? Are we going to die?” Lucy asked, frightened, as Andy tightened his arms around her.

“Don’t be afraid, Lucy,” Hawk said confidently. “There is no death. Only a change of worlds.” Lucy felt oddly comforted and steeled herself for whatever was coming.

As time wound down Hawk took the last few seconds of his existence to remember his journey and his purpose. He had prepared for this moment. It had been coming to him in visions since that day over twenty-five years ago when an earnest Dale Cooper threw stones in the police station’s backyard in order to reveal suspects for Laura Palmer’s murder. Hawk knew Cooper was special - and when he first met him there was recognition.

As long as he could remember, Hawk had the gift of visions, and because of that gift he was visited by The Light when he was very small. Later, when he was almost full grown, The Light asked if he would become a protector of the White Lodge, yet assured him there would be no consequences if he refused. It was very important that he come to this decision of his own free will or there would be no point in accepting. He was to take as much time as he needed, for this decision would forever change his path.

Hawk pondered this request for many days and then sought the advice of one of the eldest members of his tribe who was a medicine man. The medicine man revealed that their people had been protectors of the White Lodge for as long as their history existed and were summoned during times of imbalance. That Hawk was summoned meant there was something that needed to be remedied across the multiverse. With that knowledge Hawk accepted The Light’s offer. Becoming a White Lodge protector imbued him with the ability to interpret The Light and his brethren’s messages and portents, to understand and experience the fluidity of time and space and to detect the presence of negative vibrations.

In order to prepare for his duties, Hawk served in the Vietnam War where he learned the ways of the modern warrior. He could then add those ways to his spiritual knowledge and position himself as a protector on the concrete plane. Hawk vividly remembered the day he drove to the Twin Peaks police station. It was summer and the sun shone in the sky with the same hue as The Light. Sheriff Frank Truman accepted his application without hesitation and he waited for the imbalance to reveal itself.

When Hawk became a Bookhouse Boy he was further able to carry out his work by enhancing the other members’ knowledge about the dark forces that existed in the woods around their town. He was careful to always communicate this knowledge in terms of Native American concepts so he would not reveal himself as a White Lodge protector. As much as he wanted to be truthful to his friends he had to shield them from the dark forces - for they would surely seek out those who knew about him.

Over the years other White Lodge protectors revealed themselves to Hawk, including Margaret Lanterman, Major Garland Briggs, and most recently Andy Brennan. Though they were given the offer at different times during their lives, they all shared psychic abilities and a pureness of spirit – characteristics that equipped them well for the fight against darkness. Dale Cooper also possessed these qualities. When Hawk heard him speak of a glowing giant who came to him with warnings and riddles, he knew The Light had also approached Cooper. Yet whether he was or wasn’t a protector was never revealed.

After the disappearance of Dale Cooper, time moved differently sometimes and events were not always what they seemed. The protectors eventually found out that Laura Palmer was a gift from The Light and the means to correct the imbalance. This explained why her passing unleashed great emotional devastation upon the citizens of Twin Peaks, and why violence and darkness seemed to be increasing for the past two decades. How she was to provide that correction was never revealed to them.

More people infused with goodness became targeted by the darkness. At Hawk’s request for an explanation The Light revealed that the darkness, or negative force, had a name. She was called Jowday or more recently, Judy. She was unleashed on this plane and this world by the detonation of the first atomic bomb on July 16th, 1945 at 5:29:45 a.m. in Alamogordo, New Mexico. That moment fueled Judy and she gave birth to BOB and a host of “children” – each with the sole purpose of unleashing and manipulating negative energy in this world and other planes only for the sake of feasting upon it.

Hawk did not know the first victims to fall, but the first one in Twin Peaks was The Light’s gift - Laura Palmer. Then there was Josie Packard who did not know she was chosen, since she too was made to suffer and then swept away. Pete Martell had a theory about her, but it died with him in the bank explosion before he could reveal it. Children were born monsters, as in the case of Richard Horne, or innocent ones became corrupted - like Gersten Hayward and Becky Briggs. Most recently there was Harry Truman’s sudden illness and Margaret’s, too – cancers that neither had a family history for and that swept through them like some mythological plague.

Judy was targeting those whose souls were the most pure, so that when misery and pain were brought upon them the negativity was more amplified and created the most potent garmonbozia. Judy sated herself on it. Her assault happened so fast that it was too late to save many of Hawk’s friends. There were also friends he was not certain of as in the case of Sarah Palmer. He could only hope that his visit the day before today was at least a balm to her suffering and at most a path to awareness.

There were fortunate exceptions. Big Ed was spared as his concerns with Norma and Nadine bound him to more concrete issues on this plane. Judy was not interested in earth-centric souls. While Big Ed’s nephew, James, was as pure a soul as they came, his simplicity also kept him tethered to the earth. Hawk had hoped that another pure soul would un-tether him.

Hawk was able to save Andy by teaching him the protection charm of his people. He had first taught this to Major Briggs and it should have worked, but he disappeared. It wasn’t until Hawk saw his floating head in a vision that he knew his essence lived on in some form. Hawk also used the charm to protect Frank Truman and the rest of the police station, which allowed Bobby Briggs to fulfill his father’s prophecy while remaining untouched, and enabled Lucy to successfully end the dark Cooper moments ago.

This charm, however, was not impervious to the shifting of timelines. This thought brought Hawk back to the present – and perhaps the last moment of his existence.

“I hope I see all of you again – every one of you,” Cooper said with a full heart. Then he and Gordon called to one another and the world faded to black.

Hawk felt his consciousness exist out of time. He saw the profile of Dale Cooper standing sullenly in the black as if he where a shadow superimposed on what was, seconds ago, the living world. A pale light from above shown upon him – its beam originating from infinite heights. With Hawk’s vision realized, he was at last able to deliver its message.

“Cooper.” Dale turned to him, startled.

“Hawk, how are you here?” Dale asked, confused.

“That is not important right now. What I am about to tell you is.” Hawk paused a moment for emphasis. “As you shed the burdens of your past, acknowledge the power of love. You must be open to receive its truest form. A raven-haired lady will offer it to you. If you do not accept this love, the future will be lost to the past. Now, go find Gordon and fulfill your destiny.” His purpose completed, Hawk nodded and vanished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When Hawk says, “There is no death. Only a change of worlds,” this is a quote from Chief Seattle [Seatlh], Suquamish Chief.
> 
> There were two objectives that I had hoped to accomplish in this opening chapter. First, I have attempted to illustrate the out of time, elongation of time, timelessness experience in writing that David Lynch so brilliantly achieves visually with The Return. The second objective was to utilize Hawk more. He is such an important character to me, and while he was given more to do in The Return, I still feel that he could be featured to a greater degree in future episodes (I’m remaining hopeful!) as his deep knowledge of the spiritual/metaphysical forces in Twin Peaks is so much a fabric of this series. That, and he’s just cool!
> 
> I also want this story to be a good example of a hero’s journey so there was a lot of information to divulge to initiate it. I sincerely hope you didn’t find this experience tedious. : ) The next installment is coming soon, if you would like to take this storytelling ride with me. From now on I will keep my notes to a minimum. Your kind comments are most welcome.
> 
> Yours, B. G. Kuro


	2. Coming and Going

“Coming empty-handed, going empty-handed — that is human.  
When you are born, where do you come from?  
When you die, where do you go?  
Life is like a floating cloud which appears.  
Death is like a floating cloud which disappears.  
The floating cloud itself originally does not exist.  
Life and death, coming and going, are also like that.  
But there is one thing which always remains clear.  
It is pure and clear, not depending on life and death.  
Then what is the one pure and clear thing?”

\- Zen Koan from Zen Master Seung Sahn

**Twin Peaks – Alternate Timeline - The Tremond Home – Late Night – Date Unknown**

An energy disturbance vibrated in the air in front of the Tremond home prompting Dale to touch it. He felt the low thrum of electricity and the atmosphere rippled in front of him like waves of water on a pond. He could see the Palmer house in a daytime setting superimposed upon this current dark Tremond facsimile. The experience was disorienting.

“What year is this?” Dale asked. Could Carrie, who was once Laura, see what he was seeing? No. She was bewildered, caught in the confusion that had occurred moments ago.

“Laura!” Sarah Palmer’s voice called from inside the ripples – the sound punching through realities. A flicker of recognition passed through Carrie/Laura’s eyes. She screamed a soul-freezing sound, the lights blew out in the house and reality went black.

* * *

Dale opened his eyes. He was lying face up on an oak tongue in groove floor in what appeared to be a long, dimly lit corridor. On either side of him, as far as he could see, were windows like the kind one would encounter in exhibits at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. It was one of his favorite places to visit as a child. His parents took him there several times and each time he went he had stayed all day reveling in its magic halls.

He carefully stood up and checked for physical damage. Satisfied that there was none, he walked over to peer into the window closest to him. The scene playing out before him looked remarkably familiar. It was a chamber illuminated by candlelight in Namgyal Monastery - the Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Dharamsala, India that was founded by His Holiness the second Dalai Lama, Gedun Gyatso. Dale had had a dream about the Tibetan people, and when Western medicine failed him, he took a leave of absence, journeying there to cleanse himself of the lingering pain of Caroline Earle’s death and to find his center once again.

Dale leaned in closer. The perspective changed to reveal him sitting on the floor of the hall with his teacher, Tenzin Gephel. The monk’s round face was passive, and although he was graying around the temples he still looked a vital youth. His deep orange robes were draped around him elegantly while Dale was clad in a simple dark navy tunic. Gephel was a monk of formidable merits and Dale found it inspiring to study with him. At this moment he was talking to Dale about how meditation could cultivate relaxation, stability and clarity. Breathing in deeply, Dale focused on the image of Buddha. This was the first time he had ever meditated…

…Dale pulled back from the window, deeply moved. That was a pivotal moment in time for him, a transformative moment. It was the moment that changed everything about him, his outlook and perception of the world around him. During that first meditation his body relaxed, his mind opened and he felt peacefulness and joy wash over him. The meditative state had opened his heart, body, mind and soul to the universal consciousness, the dream world and to everlasting love - something that he yearned for, yet continuously eluded due to tragic events.

A ripple in the scene caught Dale’s eye and he moved toward it seeing something that didn’t happen before. Gephel stepped out of himself, approached Dale, leaving his body behind, and came through the window to stand next to him.

“Hello, Dale!” the monk boomed with his robust voice. “You have questions, my friend, of that I am sure,” he smiled, warmly.

Astonished, Dale hugged his former teacher. He hadn’t realized how much he missed him. “Indeed I do,” he said as he pulled away. “Where are you and where am I, Master Gephel?”

“I am there,“ Gephel pointed to the window, “and I am here. Here is bardo – you remember! It is the Tibetan Buddhist term for the life between lives. This is where you come every time you die and before you are reborn.” The monk looked around. “Nice construct! You have quite an imagination.”

“Thank you, Master,” Dale breathed deeply, working to remain calm. “So, I am dead?” He was never one to mince words and braced himself for Gephel’s answer.

“ You are, my friend.” The monk paused a moment regarding him. “I see that you are upset. Don’t be,” the monk said abruptly, sensing Dale’s distress.

“How can I not?” Dale replied, frustrated at his teacher’s triteness. “I was supposed to fulfill a promise. There was a young woman who died and she was the key to everything that had gone sideways. I was supposed to save her, prevent her from dying and by doing so a correction would be made to balance the negative force that was unleashed from the first atomic bomb. Instead, this negative force followed me and continued to rip her away at the most crucial times. My visions of success became failures and now there is nothing I can do. This chapter is over and my next lives will carry the karma of these failures which were never meant to be.” He slumped against the wall, defeated.

Gephel studied him a moment, then spoke. “What makes you think this wasn’t supposed to happen?” Sensing Dale’s apparent confusion Gephel raised another point. “Look around you. There are choices.”

“I don’t understand,” Dale said, affirming his confusion.

“Walk with me,” Gephel said while linking his arm around Dale’s and steering him down the corridor. “Look in these windows. What do you see?”

Dale looked at every window as they walked by. Each one seemed to depict a scene from his life – some that he remembered and others that he did not. He stopped walking, disengaged his arm from his teacher’s and looked at him, questioningly.

“Why don’t I recognize some of these scenes? Based on my age, clothing and settings many of these moments are things I should remember and then there are some that don’t even make sense. Some where I don’t even recognize who I am.”

“Always the meticulous agent. These skills have served you well, but for this instance you are thinking too linearly. Remember what I taught you about choices made and not made, about the past and future being one, about alternate lives and reincarnation? Every path is revealed here in each of these windows.”

“So these are all my potential paths, alternative lives, timelines if you will?” Dale tried to wrap his head around what he was seeing. There were infinite choices, apparently, in this never-ending corridor. It was difficult not to be overwhelmed.

“Something like that,” Gephel said, amiably. “You cannot expect to view every one of these, but you are here to learn from your past life and choose the lessons you need to learn in the next.”

“But what if what happened to me wasn’t supposed to? What if the unprecedented unleashing of Judy changed the spiritual course of my life? What then? Can I go back and fix it, erase this event?” Dale asked, hopeful.

“It doesn’t work like that, my friend,“ Gephel offered truthfully. “I will reiterate: nothing happens that isn’t supposed to. There are things that you are missing.”

“I wish you could tell me, but I know you can’t,” Dale acknowledged. “I must discover the answer myself, or I won’t learn from it.” Dale sighed yielding to the precepts of his teachings.

Gephel touched Dale’s arm leading him back toward the window he had come from. “I can tell you this much. I am making this journey to your bardo state in our mediation for a reason, Dale. Remember the things you felt and learned from your first experience. Those will guide you to your answers.” Reaching his destination he stopped. “I must return to where I belong.”

Dale smiled at his teacher, resigned. “This was all going on during our first session. You never let on.”

“No,” Gephel said, straightforwardly, “and it was difficult not to reveal such an extraordinary experience.” With that admission he chuckled. “I did and do and always know that you are a remarkable soul, Dale Cooper. Good journey!” Gephel embraced Dale firmly, stepped back into the window and rejoined his astral self with his physical self.

Dale regarded the window for quite a while, watching as that inspirational scene continued to unfold. He remembered how old and burdened he had felt before coming to the temple and how young and unfettered he felt when he left. Now he only felt confused as he contemplated his next steps in this realm of un-time. Softly, he repeated his teacher’s words: “Remember the things you felt and learned from your first experience.” With purpose, he manifested a mat, sat down upon it in resting pose contemplating his experience.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt I needed to expand the biography of Dale Cooper to include an actual trip to Tibet. I honestly think that it had to be more than a dream about the Tibetan people that brought Dale to his understanding of Tibetan Buddhism. Thank you all for staying with me on this writing journey.
> 
> Yours, B. G. Kuro


	3. The Highest Truth

“The highest truth needs no communicating, for it is by its very nature self-propelling. It radiates its influence silently as the rose its fragrance without the intervention of a medium.”

\- Mahatma Gandhi

The Fireman reviewed immediate past events on his screen in the great hall. The scene that played out in front of him was violent. His gift, Laura Palmer, screamed in psychic pain remembering her alternate life. Reality folded and the screen went dark.

The Fireman was certain Judy was destroyed inside her own construct - the alternate timeline that she created to snare Laura so that her continued suffering would feed her and her minions for all eternity. It didn’t matter to her that all those souls’ lives in the other timeline were irrevocably altered. It didn’t matter that she took away their ability to choose their own paths. She only cared about her appetite.

How ironic that humanity had unknowingly unleashed Judy, causing this imbalance throughout the multiverse, and that this was ultimately their undoing. The world’s leaders had claimed the atomic bomb would secure everlasting peace. Indeed, The Fireman derived no comfort in Judy’s death, for humanity, which he believed capable of so much more, was not saved but rather erased.

And Laura wasn’t supposed to be sacrificed for humanity. Her purpose was to be a beacon of love and light that balanced all the unnatural fear and darkness caused by Judy. However, Judy and BOB’s possession of her parents turned Laura’s life into one of pain and suffering as well, shading her true purpose.

As The Fireman continued to process his grief, he realized another irony: that the pain of Laura’s combined lives in dual timelines created such a powerful garmonbozia that it acted as a bomb destroying Judy and everything in its wake. With this realization, The Fireman needed to know what detonated that bomb. It would provide a much-needed explanation and give Laura’s death some closure. He reviewed more past events on his screen. The screen was designed to show him what was important when he gave it an intent, so he trusted what he would see would be helpful.

The first scene the screen showed him was of Sarah Palmer in her hospital room holding Laura as a newborn, her husband Leland beaming at her side. Neither parent was possessed in this moment and their love for her radiated through the screen, a tangible force across time and space.

The scene changed to the moment Sarah Palmer first realized that Laura was missing, the morning of her murder. In fear she called out her name from the bottom of the stairs. Love’s force continued to radiate and The Fireman felt her love take on a protective sheen.

Then once more the scene changed again to an angry Sarah Palmer smashing her daughter’s homecoming queen photo on the floor of the TV room in her home. Judy had possession of her in that moment, furious that Dale Cooper had rescued Laura from the events that would lead to her murder by BOB. Able to sense her thoughts and others’ through the screen’s display, The Fireman learned that Sarah was able to cast off Judy and that she thanked Hawk for that ability.

Only the day before, Hawk had checked up on Sarah and finally discovered the voice in her home. It was the phantom of Mrs. Tremond continuously encouraging Sarah in her destructive ways. Hawk knew why. The garmonbozia generated was potent enough to feed many of Judy’s minions. Hawk said it was time for Sarah to purge herself of pain. He could sense the goodness in her being stifled, and in order to be completely whole one must acknowledge one’s grief and let it pass through. Sarah had been stuck in her grief for twenty-five years, so how was she to accomplish this? Hawk acknowledged it would not be easy, but the way toward shedding it was to meditate on a most inspirational moment, and to hold on to that feeling. After he left she thought of one: the birth of her daughter.

And so she did as Hawk suggested, and felt her grief departing. Soon Sarah felt a strength she didn’t know she had, and her love for her husband and daughter was no longer filled with pain but pure joy. It was this form of unconditional love that enabled her to resist Judy’s one last attempt to take her.

The scene transformed a final time to Sarah sitting cross-legged on the floor in her living room, saturated gold light filtering in as curtains – closed for decades – were once again opened. In her hand was a portrait of Leland, Laura and herself on the day of Laura’s twelfth birthday – the last time they were truly happy as a family.

She felt the shift in the timelines, but held on to her dream of her sunny living room and called to her daughter across time and space. A portal opened revealing an older version of Laura in a dark universe standing outside a facsimile of their home. Laura screamed as the rush of pain hit her from both timelines. It hurt Sarah deeply to see her suffer. As the dark universe collapsed, Sarah stood up, grabbed for her daughter and pulled her into their living room. Laura’s body swiftly transformed from a middle aged, battered woman into her glowing twelve-year-old.

“Gotcha!” Sarah Palmer triumphed, hugging her child tightly.

“Mom?” Laura asked, astonished.

The screen went blank; The Fireman was equally astonished. The screen hadn’t shown him this scene before. Laura’s last moments were supposed to be her end. Instead, it was Sarah’s unconditional love that detonated the bomb and that love had apparently, for the moment, sustained Laura.

Unexpectedly, space rippled and an orange robed man appeared. His youthful countenance betrayed his essence, which felt as ancient as the multiverse to The Fireman.

“I have a message for you, “ the robed man stated. The Fireman nodded, encouraging him to continue. “Sarah Palmer achieved her highest truth. Through that highest truth love flowed - and from that love hope continues. Do not give up on correction, for this is your truth.”

The Fireman nodded again, comprehending. He had all but given up, thinking Laura had died. “I understand. Thank you,” he said sincerely. Then, curious, he asked: “What is your name?”

“My name is Tenzin Gephel,” he stated, confidently.

“And what is your truth, Tenzin Gephel?” The Fireman pressed.

“My truth is to help others achieve their path.” Gephel answered without hesitation. His eyes stared intently at The Fireman, prepared for more inquiry.

Taking his lead, The Fireman asked the question he was most curious about: “How did you get here?”

“Love is a conduit to many places. In my meditations love takes me to where I am needed the most. What you see before you is not my physical self, but a spiritual manifestation. To many this meditative experience would appear to be a vision, but I have known for many years that my visions are much more.” Gephel paused to let The Fireman soak in his words, then continued. “I am connected to Dale Cooper and he is connected to Laura Palmer who is connected to you. It is not unexpected that my path would lead here.” Gephel folded his arms and waited for The Fireman’s response.

‘This is extraordinary,” The Fireman said, chastened. “I have one more question.” He paused, waiting for permission. Gephel nodded in acquiescence, patient with him. “Would you like to work together?” He smiled gently. He couldn’t remember the last time he had smiled.

“I thought you’d never ask!” Gephel boomed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the love. You humble me.
> 
> Yours, B. G. Kuro


	4. The Strength in Tragedy

“There is a saying in Tibetan, 'Tragedy should be utilized as a source of strength.'  
No matter what sort of difficulties, how painful experience is, if we lose our hope, that's our real disaster.”

― Dalai Lama XIV

Audrey abruptly found herself staring into a mirror, the Roadhouse music hall disintegrating around her. She was disoriented and struggled to know what was real and what wasn’t. Observing her surroundings brought her somewhat back to her senses. She was in what she called The Cage, a brightly lit room with white padded walls. And she was dressed in white. White, white, white. White used to be the color of heaven, but this white meant hell.

Angry, she washed her face in the white sink (damn, more white) underneath the mirror and took a good look at herself. She was startled to see a withered woman peering back at her. This person looked drained, as if something was sucking the life force right out of her.

And she didn’t feel like she was herself - the image of what her life was and what it was supposed to be, at odds. If she concentrated hard enough she could conjure glimpses of another life. She had an office and a purpose and a loving family. She wore a suit and had a badge, and her husband who was tall, coffee eyed and handsome also wore a suit and had a badge. Then his suit dissolved into something dark which always left her screaming.

The screaming brought her back to this life – a life full of strange dreams and pain. The Explosion Life, she called it. Sometimes people would visit her and sometimes those people became other people. Like sometimes Charlie was her shrink and sometimes he was her husband. And sometimes there was a nice caregiver who was called Billy and sometimes Billy was her lover whose mouth bled.

And sometimes she remembered her life before the explosion. There was a hotel that she lived in, a dysfunctional family that she belonged to… and a special agent that protected her. She could remember the crisp sandalwood smell of his aftershave and his gentle fingers caressing her flushed cheeks and his strong arms holding her close while her body ached with something like the flu. Or was it a fever or something else entirely? She remembered him whispering tender things and things that made her feel safe and things that made her smile in a house with books. He loosened his necktie and she could see his smooth neck and Adam’s apple bobbing every time he whispered and a hint of his strong chest underneath his unbuttoned shirt. Each time she remembered this she would also remember reaching up to straighten the lapel of his suit jacket - and then he and the suit would dissolve into something dark and she would scream again. She screamed again now and the lights went out.

_The negative force that held her in this cage gorged itself on her misery. Soon there would be enough food to eternally feed them all._

Ben Horne peered through the glass window to the room where his daughter resided. At present she was sedated and bound after having another violent episode.

For the first few years after the bank explosion Audrey was in a coma and cared for at Calhoun Memorial. When she woke from her coma she was pronounced schizophrenic. Dr. Lawrence Jacoby initially took care of her, but when he retired to “pursue higher interests”, Charles Kepler took over her care and moved her to Pineview Psychiatric Hospital on the outskirts of Twin Peaks. While Jacoby was an optimist, Kepler was a realist. Jacoby had high hopes of healing Audrey, but each attempt seemed to make her withdraw further into her dream worlds. Kepler had braced Ben for the fact that she might never get better and the best he could hope for was a stretch of lucid days.

Ben had hoped this would be one of those days. He had wanted so desperately to tell her that her delinquent, murderous hate child, Richard, was dead. But fate had not rewarded him. Damn Sylvia for allowing Richard back into their lives in the first place and good riddance at his departure. Deep down Ben believed that if Audrey were presented with this information, she would be able to wake up and move on from her rape all those years ago that had produced this bad seed. Ben knew he hadn’t been a good father to her when she was young, but he yearned for the time that he could make it up to her. Disillusioned, he departed through the double doors as the clock froze on 2:53 PM.

* * *

Dale was not certain how long it took him to arrive at his answer. When one was in bardo one existed out of linear time. In a relaxed state, he continuously reviewed his experiences from his first meditation, during which his thoughts kept returning to one thing - his glimpse of everlasting love. Why love was so elusive in his life was a mystery: every time he pursued it, it ended in tragedy. For all his teachings, he felt there was nothing he could do, except close himself off to love in order to protect the ones he cared for. He remembered that he had no wish to remain without a life partner, but it seemed as if tragedy’s cloud followed him wherever he went. Perhaps his life was to be one of platonic relationships…

…then along came Audrey Horne. At this epiphany the windows in the corridor shifted and stopped, presenting another set of scenes to his view. He looked into the closest window and felt tightness in his chest. The scene playing out before him was the time he first met Audrey. She sauntered across the dining hall of the Great Northern, all woman. He would have been a fool to deny there wasn’t an instant physical attraction. What red-blooded male wouldn’t have reacted to her? She was Aphrodite and Astraea wrapped up in one confusing package. As he watched their exchange, he recalled sensing depths in her that he longed to explore. And although she was obviously flirting with him, a product of her naïveté, her loneliness hit him like a tsunami.

The scene shifted to him walking down the wood paneled hall that led to his hotel room. Those blasted, insane Icelanders were singing at o’God’o’clock and he was convinced he would commit a felony if he had another sleepless night. When he saw his door ajar he instantly went into agent mode. Pulling out his gun he commanded that the intruder turn on a light. Anticipating subduing a criminal he instead discovered Audrey in his bed, unclothed, weeping and begging him not to make her leave. Assuring her what she needed more than anything was a friend, he left the hotel room pledging to return with sustenance and expected her to be dressed upon his arrival.

The conversation that transpired over malts and fries revealed her to be a strong soul whose openness and honesty were the keys that unlocked his heart. With the night as their guardian, she revealed everything she could about herself - her dreams, her disappointments, her triumphs and her follies. He listened, enthralled. No matter what, he swore to himself that he would protect her innocence. And while he hoped he had been a comfort to Audrey, by the end of her first confession he was a goner.

Well past the time where night embraced morning she had fallen asleep upon his pillow. He hadn’t the heart to wake her and ended up tucking the comforter over her peaceful form. With the other pillow at hand he chose the floor as his mattress, and try as he might, sleep escaped him. He opted for a deep meditation instead. At the sun’s arrival he stole a look at her. She was a vision of dark curls and butterfly lashes upon alabaster skin.

Stealthily he showered and dressed and found at the end of his ablutions that she still remained in deep slumber. He wrote her a note to tell her he had left for the day and very much hoped that he had helped her. He signed it ‘Your Faithful Friend, Dale’. Friends, ONLY friends, he repeated as a mantra. It was what they both needed, but not what he wanted. He wanted her. Allowing himself this gift just once, he kissed her chastely on the lips, inhaling the scent of her, then quietly left the room. Her taste lingered on his lips for a good part of the day, reminding him of sweet sunlit cherries. In quiet periods he recalled her fragrance, which was as delicate as the first flowers of spring.

The scene shifted to the back room of the Bookhouse. He was holding Audrey as her body shook with chills from heroin withdrawal. She had gone undercover to One Eyed Jack’s to help aid Cooper with his investigation, but ended up being discovered and held for ransom. Though he’d been unaware of her plan, upon learning of her kidnapping he shouldered the entire blame for her being held hostage. Another innocent hurt in the line of his duty. Another person he loved made to suffer for his interests. He had promised to keep her safe. After she recovered and returned home he imprisoned his feelings inside a fortress of discipline. He could never allow himself to love Audrey and visualized a better partner and a better life for her.

The pain building inside Dale became too much to bear. He felt his grief coming in waves and cried out to the multiverse, “No more!” He knew the price of loving someone else. It was wrong to rub his face in it.

The multiverse, though, had other intentions. The windows shifted again, displaying scenes that showed multiple outcomes of alternate lives in which he pushed love away – where he was insane, homeless, suffering with a terminal illness, friendless and alone, destitute. What did it all mean? He fell to his knees, sobbing.

“I don’t understand! My love hurts others!” he raged. He thought he had hit rock bottom when he was trapped in the Black Lodge. This was far worse. “My tragedy follows me wherever I go! Why am I being punished for protecting those I love?”

In response the windows shifted to another scene. He was back in the temple with Gephel in the same meditation hall he had observed earlier.

“Dale, I am concerned you are closing yourself off to certain possibilities,” Gephel cautioned.

“Why, Master? I have approached everything you have taught me openly,” Dale countered.

“What concerns me most is how you have let tragedy, especially this most recent one, close you off to love.” Gephel waited patiently after lobbing what Dale called one of his wisdom balls.

“But bad things happen to those I care for. What would you have me do?” Dale questioned.

“We do the best learning during difficult periods, especially during times of tragedy. You have not allowed true learning during this period. When you do you will find your answers.” Gephel concluded.

Dale shook his head and smiled wryly at his teacher. Of course Gephel wouldn’t spoon-feed him the answers. He would have to find them himself.

The screen faded. Dale left the temple three months later, healed enough to resume his life at the Bureau, but he never did completely find the answer. Perhaps if he had, his life would not have ended as it did. Well, he certainly had plenty of time to think about it now. What were the crucial points that had been made during his bardo state? He manifested a notepad and pencil and wrote them down.  
  
_\- Everything happens for a reason even if it is not initially apparent._  
  
_\- What affected me most during my first meditation was to experience everlasting love._  
  
_\- The windows showed me a life of pain from not accepting love._  
  
As he reviewed his points a question presented itself. What was the one thing he would have learned had he worked through his tragedies, if he hadn’t closed himself off to love? He recalled his first painful experience - the death of his mother. It was the hardest thing he had ever endured up until that point. However, through that grief Dale became stronger and with that strength Dale’s hope for the future had been renewed. Things would never be the same, but things would be okay and good things would happen again.

However, his romantic relationships with women were all largely unsuccessful ending with the ultimate failure of Caroline Earle. He had not gained any strength from his tragedies. But why? Taking a deep breath, he opened the part of himself that resisted this probing, and by doing so recalled that since the death of his mother he had muted his feelings, mistaking that action for gaining strength. How could the outcome of his relationships be positive if there was a part of him that wasn’t completely open? By closing off parts of himself there was no balance to his feelings. He thought he felt love strongly, but without that balance he made bad decisions in love and pushed potentially good ones away. This imbalance also caused the wrong people to be attracted to him and set him on a path of spiritual pain.

With that epiphany the answer presented itself, like the petals of an unfolding rose. Encouraged, he quickly scribbled what he believed to be more keys:  
  
_\- Stay open through tragedy._  
  
_\- Being open, one can gain strength from tragedy._  
  
_\- With strength there is hope._  
  
_\- With hope one can be completely open to love._  
  
“What would happen if I completely opened to love?” Dale wondered. The windows didn’t help him this time. Clearly he had to figure this last piece out for himself.


	5. Love and Light

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

“We have before us the glorious opportunity to inject a new dimension of love into the veins of our civilization.”

\- Martin Luther King, Jr.

  
Artwork Credit - Rinaldo Zoontjes’s manip of Fabian Perez’s _The Embrace_

Rocking her daughter in her arms, Sarah Palmer surveyed her living room, watching as the last vestige of the dark universe vanished. Knowing her construct would remain intact, Sarah spoke. “You’re safe, honey.”

What just happened?” Laura asked, trembling. She saw her reflection in her mother’s eyes. It was impossible, but she was a child once again.

“Before I answer, what do you remember?” Sarah soothed, gently. She didn’t wish to overwhelm her daughter.

“I remember everything,” Laura said, unable to stop the tears that leaked from her eyes.

“Oh my, baby, my beautiful baby,” Sarah crooned, “You’re safe now. Everything is going to be all right. I know. I promise.” She continued to rock her gently until her tears subsided.

Laura dragged a sleeve across her face, gathering herself, and began to recount what she had experienced. “I was your daughter, but then I wasn’t and then I was in this place that just felt all wrong - and my name was Carrie,” she shivered. “It was just nuts. And then I remembered you, and this life and the pain hurt so bad that I screamed…and then came to this place, so familiar and yet so different. It seems lighter, welcoming – like - a sanctuary.” Laura paused, digesting what she said, then exclaimed, “What the hell, Mom?!”

“Oh, honey, I promise you this isn’t hell.” Sarah collected her thoughts. “I think I can explain.” Sarah breathed in deeply, bracing herself for the outcome of her words. “Judy, the mother of BOB, stole you and put you away in places where your father and I couldn’t find you. In short, it was love that saved you. Hawk helped me remember how to once again love purely. It was because of that pure love that I was able to create this haven and bring you here. I don’t completely understand it, but nonetheless it’s true.”

Laura regarded her mother and her fear softened into calm. “Mom, I believe you,” she said, determinedly. “I remember that love between you and Dad and me. It was peaceful and felt everlasting. It only went away when BOB took me. When he soiled me on my twelfth birthday I thought it was my fault. Because I couldn’t stop him I made it all go wrong.” Tears began to stream down her face once more. Sarah gently brushed them away with the lightest of touches.

“Don’t you dare blame yourself, Laura! Our combined love was supposed to keep us safe. No one could have predicted that Judy and her minions would discover us and torture us. Because they did, our combined suffering fed them and kept us all from our purpose.”

Understanding dawned in Laura’s eyes. “I think I remember now. When I was little I used to have waking dreams, visions. You, Dad and I were standing together, glowing, with the world vibrant around us.”

“Yes, Laura!” Sarah encouraged. “Yes! You were a gift to humankind and you were supposed to heal the world with your light - and we were the parents that were to nurture you so you could fulfill your purpose.”

“Instead, we all became demon food! I didn’t understand any of it. I just thought my life was to be endless pain. But here, I understand it all. Oh, Mom!” Laura hugged Sarah fiercely. “What now? How do we fix it?”

“We are already doing so,” Sarah said, calm blooming around her. “All you have to do right now is remain here in this haven I have created. Rest, my sweet Laura. Regain your strength. We will know when the time is right to leave here. For now…would you like some hot cocoa?” Sarah smiled, gently.

“Oh, yes, please, Mom,” Laura answered, comforted. She couldn’t remember the last time her heart felt so full.

“Good, honey. Lie down on the couch. I’ll be right back.” Sarah smiled warmly at her daughter and headed out the doorway. “Ah, there it is!” Sarah triumphed when she successfully conjured a kitchen for their new haven.

Laura’s eyelids drooped as she found herself relaxing to the scent of chocolate. Could people get sleepy in their own personal haven? Perhaps it was best not to question it. Soon enough she would have to rally for whatever came next. For now she would allow herself the indulgence of hot cocoa and her mother’s care.

* * *

Dale sat in resting pose meditating on keeping his mind clear and opening his heart to love. Each time he tried, however, another painful thought would cross through his mind, obscuring his goals like clouds across the sun. He was beginning to lose patience, which he found ironic in this realm of un-time.

“Perhaps I am going about this the wrong way, “ Dale said out loud. “Instead of clearing my mind so that it will become open, I should concentrate on a memory that will open me.”

But what? Dale accessed his memories through the shifting windows. The one that stopped in front of him was a memory from his deep past.

“Oh how could I have forgotten?” he asked to no one in particular, leaning in toward the window.

It was the first Christmas morning that he could remember, so he must have been three years old. He heard his mother calling up to Emmet, his older brother, who was still deep in slumber. His dad was bouncing him on his knee playing choo-choo as the Lionel train set raced around the room, first going behind the couch and emerging once again to cross behind the Christmas tree on its way to the rocking chair in the corner. Then the loop would repeat again and again!

His mother emerged from the kitchen with rosy cheeks, smiling like an angel. “Dale,” she cooed, “Santa wants you to eat something so you won’t be hungry when you open your presents. Let’s have some pancakes.”

Pancakes – his favorite! He jumped off his dad and ran to his mother and threw his arms around her. Soon he was joined by his dad and then a sleepy Emmet in what became the ultimate hug sandwich. Surrounded by his family, bathed in the warmth of love, his young mind knew that all was right with the world.

Dale pulled back from the window, tears trailing down his cheeks. Love’s embers rekindled inside his heart. For so long he had pushed this feeling away and in reality it was the suppression of that feeling that placed him on the path to tragedy and oblivion. Convinced that embracing this feeling would provide momentum toward more answers, Dale lay down upon his mat, giving in to the glow and comfort of everlasting love which, unnoticed by him, began to open a rift nearby to another place - a place that was a cage, but would soon be no longer.

* * *

Audrey was surrounded by emptiness. She had woken to the image of her father’s retreating back as the clock refused to move forward. Too weak to speak and restricted by binding she could not call to him. Then everything vanished around her.

What had just happened? Surprised that she was no longer bound she sat up from her bed, surveying her surroundings. The dark force that constantly terrified her was gone. A golden glow appeared above, seeming to emanate from an infinite source providing her with light and warmth. Tentatively she stood, and found solid ground underneath her.

As Audrey began to get her bearings in this new, undefined space her sense of self became clearer. It was if she had woken from a very bad dream, a dream where her mind had been damaged, a dream where she was fractured by giving birth to a son that should have never been, by a man that had should have never been.

Also in this undefined space she felt began to feel light and full of energy. Audrey couldn’t remember the last time she felt this way. Intrigued, she examined herself. Her attire had changed from the simple white scrubs she wore at the hospital to a familiar pairing of a black pencil skirt and a tailored midnight blue cashmere sweater with black and white saddle shoes.

With hesitation Audrey approached the mirror, a relic left behind from the past room, and gazed into it once again. She braced herself for the visage of the drained being she had become. What greeted her instead was a timelessly glowing maiden.

Realization struck Audrey. “I’m looking at my soul,” she confirmed to no one in particular. She also knew in that moment she was dead. She wasn’t so much afraid as grieved to know that she had died without making the difference she had so believed she would or loving someone as deeply as she knew she could. And it all felt wrong - as if her life were robbed from her. As if she were, dare she believe it, thrust into the wrong timeline due to circumstances beyond her control.

Her life had been a juxtaposition of privilege and loneliness with family members that cared more for their personal dramas than for her welfare. Then for a brief while a special agent of the FBI stepped into her life. He was kind, caring, loving. He encouraged her intellect and showed her a world of possibilities. Her whole being vibrated when he entered the room and she felt a connection that could only signify that they were soulmates. Even when he would deny any feelings for her, his hooded coffee colored eyes betrayed him. She would wait as long as it took for them to be together and in spite of their romantic diversions she knew this would ultimately come true. Then he was gone, a dark facsimile left in his absence, and her world went very wrong.

Her loss claiming her fully, Audrey cried: “I’ll never stop loving you!” It was oddly freeing to exclaim those words to the multiverse. They felt like a prayer and an incantation wrapped together. Unfortunately no one was present to benefit from them, whatever that benefit could be. If this was the end, so be it. She would accept any peace that was granted her.

Ripples appeared in space a few feet away from her. Audrey sat up staring in wonder as they parted and opened a rift. Through the rift there was a long corridor. Then a wave of love passed through the rift caressing her and transforming her despair into joy. Renewed, Audrey stood and walked confidently toward it. On the floor of the corridor a man in a black suit was lying on top of a mat, a beatific expression gracing his handsome features. Every part of Audrey’s being recognized that man. She also recognized him as the source of that love. Ecstatic she called to him: “Dale!”

* * *

Standing next to one another The Fireman and Gephel viewed the events that passed before them on the screen, from Laura rediscovering her mother to Dale’s epiphany to Audrey’s awakening. A knowing smile appeared on Gephel’s face and he turned to The Fireman.

“It’s happening,” the monk stated simply.

The Fireman regarded him passively and nodded in agreement.

* * *

Dale sat up abruptly in response to the sound of his name. Across the room a rift had opened, a glow emanating from its depths. He could see the outline of a form crossing through it, female, all curves and petite. Her hair was the color of raven’s wings, its color triggering the memory of Hawk’s words from what felt a lifetime ago.

_‘As you shed the burdens of your past, acknowledge the power of love. You must be open to receive its truest form. A raven-haired lady will offer it to you. If you do not accept this love, the future will be lost to the past.’_

Could it even be possible…? Dale’s thought process ceased any further calculations as this beautiful woman approached him, colored with violet eyes, ruby lips and a golden, glimmering soul. His body vibrated with the same feeling he had every time he occupied the same space with her, the connection between them palpable. He knew this woman and remembered how she affected him. Her presence had excited him and comforted him at the same time - like the caress of the sun’s rays upon his face greeting him in the morning, the fresh dew on the pine needles before the daytime drank it, and the kiss of spring scenting the air. He watched her stop just short of him, trembling, waiting for some kind of permission.

“Audrey,” he whispered, awed. His hand lightly touched her cheek, not quite believing she was real.

“Yes,” she beamed back at him, her smile more potent than the sun. “Yes!” she repeated again, triumphant, and threw her arms around him. She felt his dark blue soul energy envelop her with its protective density. She was home.

He buried his face in her hair drinking in her essence. A peaceful calm penetrated his being. He was home, too.

Finding his voice once again Dale asked, “How are you here?”

Dormant words tumbled out of Audrey triggered by his question. “Love. Your love - and your acceptance of mine.” She didn’t know how she knew but nonetheless it was true.

Dale stepped back and took a good look at her, his hands holding hers, spreading their arms wide. She was as he remembered her, beautiful, vibrant, unstoppable. His renewed being was transformed by her love, darkness purged from it replaced by her golden light. She had restored his future and his past.

“You came a very long way to save my miserable soul,” Dale said, humbled.

“It’s only fair. You saved my life before that,” Audrey countered. “I think we’re even now.”

Dale was overcome by his genuine affection for this woman who had crossed time, space and death for him. He placed the lightest of kisses upon her lips. Tenderness and unity washed over him. Completely open, he accepted her gifts and returned them fully. The space around them began to glow with their soul sharing.

“I love you,” he stated honestly, then chuckled, shyly.

“What?” she asked, bemused.

“It took twenty-five years, multiple timelines and death for me to finally say it. Now that I have, I feel foolish for not saying it when I first felt it.”

“Well, you had your reasons, all very gallant and gentlemanly. I wouldn’t have loved you if you weren’t those things.” She stated openly, then eyes full of mischief she asked, ”By the way, when was the first time you knew you loved me?”

“Honestly?” Dale grinned returning her playfulness: “The first time I saw you in the Great Northern’s dining hall.” He then sobered with his next statement, and regarded her with his trademark earnest look, the one that always made her knees go weak. “My body and my soul resonated with your presence. You were everything I had dreamed of. I was terrified.” He lowered his head, embarrassed at his confession.

Absorbing the multiverse’s knowledge fully, Audrey delivered its message and its truth. “You don’t have to feel that way anymore. I promise. This time things will be different. Just remember to keep loving. Don’t push it away. It’s the one thing that the dark force can’t combat. Love drives out hate. Light drives out darkness.” She took his face in her hands, soothing him.

“Are you saying I get a second chance?” Dare he believe it?

“Not exactly. I think you get a chance at correction - because Judy had no business interfering with things that weren’t her right to influence,” Audrey stated, fiercely, the multiverse her source of information.

“Will you be with me this time?” Dale asked, strengthened by her courage.

“I never left you,” she said, her eyes full of promise.

Dale swept her into his arms. This time he wasn’t letting her go. His vow signaled a window to present itself revealing a vibrantly colored scene. A celadon sun was setting over an emerald field with the sky blazing an ultramarine blue.

He stopped just before stepping into the scene, concerned for her well being. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“As sure as you love damn fine coffee,” she said, her eyes twinkling. Then, sobering, she stated with conviction, “I love you, too.”

Overcome with tenderness Dale grazed her cheek with the tips of his fingers, then took her hand. They paused to take one last look at the spirit realm. Then breathing as one they stepped into the scene and vanished.


	6. All the Powers in the Universe

“All the powers in the universe are already ours. It is we who have put our hands before our eyes and cry that it is dark.”

\- Swami Vivekananda

Sunlight streamed through the open window, tickling underneath Dale’s eyelids. Lodgepole pine and Sitka spruce scented the air and a Varied Thrush called virilely in the distance. He felt as if he had woken from a deep sleep lasting years instead of hours – a modern day Rip Van Winkle rather than an agent of the Bureau. A gentle smile graced his handsome features with that whimsical thought.

He opened his eyes, slowly taking in his surroundings. Sturdy wood paneling covered the walls and to the right of him sitting on top of his nightstand was a key with the numbers 315 embossed upon it. He was in his old room at the Great Northern. Impossible… or was it?

“Is this real?” he asked no one in particular. All his memories of the past twenty-five years were intact – and yet he had felt a shift as if time had been knocked away and another version of the past was now his present, as if he had been dropped into himself at this specific moment to live out another future.

A stirring underneath his rust colored comforter pulled him from his reverie. A dark curled head peeked out from underneath its cocoon to reveal Japanese Iris colored eyes and lush red lips painted on alabaster skin. White teeth flashed from those lips revealing a smile that would have lighted the darkest of rooms.

“Good morning,” said Audrey Horne, looking fresh faced and new as this late spring morning. She stretched revealing a perfect nude torso that any artist would be envious to sketch.

“Good morning,” Dale repeated, kissing the side of her impossibly soft cheek.

How many times had he allowed himself to imagine a morning like this where they woke up together, skin touching in the home of each other’s arms? This fantasy was a constant mantra while he was in the Black Lodge.

Audrey saw Dale’s brows furrow and knew he was revisiting dark memories that were obsolete here. She pulled him to her and held him, stroking his thick hair, soothing the wounds that still resonated.

Dale took time to get lost in the feeling of their embrace, something he remembered he could never allow himself to do. He lost himself in the powdery silk of her breast and inhaled her floral scent. He felt safe and loved and the momentary storm of his past life subsided.

Centered once again he asked, “How much do you remember… of our other life?” He softened his question by kissing her collarbone lightly savoring the sound of her sigh when his lips touched her pulse point. He loved being able to express himself in gestures of tenderness.

“I remember everything… my dysfunctional family, being unloved and lonely, living in a psychiatric hospital, my life between lives… finding you there, too… everything.” She kissed his forehead smoothing out lines of concern that had appeared on his noble face. “But I remember this life, too – this life where I am loved by my family, have a father who dotes on me rather than dismisses me… and where a special agent after my family’s college graduation party almost showed me for the first time last night just how much he loved me.” Audrey’s sudden giggle lightened the mood as she remembered the silly things he said to her when they made their way from the party in the wee hours to their hotel room.

Dale started at her statement and as realization dawned an adorable blush bloomed in his cheeks – the corrected timeline’s memories asserting themselves. Peering over the comforter he saw a trail of clothes leading up to the bed that told the story of their evening together. However, not accustomed to drinking and unaware of how much wine he consumed (Ben’s wait staff made sure his glass was never empty) he only got as far as declaring his undying love for her before he blissfully passed out from their celebrations.

At his reaction Audrey could not restrain herself any longer and her giggles became full blown laughter. “You were so cute,” she said between guffaws, “and you kept talking about how there was one and ONLY one secret that you kept from me and how you MUST reveal it because it would be dishonest not to.” She stifled another laugh. “You get so earnest when you’re tipsy.” And with that she completely lost it.

Taking her mirth in stride, Dale laughed along with her, shifting them so that he could cradle her in her arms. “ I somewhat recollect that moment,” he said wryly, “and I do remember what I was going to tell you. This morning, mostly recovered from the influence of spirits, it’s still important to me.”

Taking a cue from Dale’s shift in tone Audrey said, gently, ”Tell me then. I want to know everything.”

Dale smiled softly at her, grateful for her indulgence. “In the other timeline, when I told you that you had a heart that yearned and to be careful… my heart was yearning, too. An inconsolable ache built up inside it over a lifetime of not having you. Regret and pain became a part of my existence and I carried it over with me to bardo. I was so wrong not to return your love. Now that the multiverse has given us to each other I am going to spend every day loving you like I should have before.”

Moved by his declaration Audrey kissed him deeply, feeling her entire being singing to his returned ardor. When the flames of their kisses burned down to embers she addressed what had been on her mind since she woke in his arms a little while ago.

“Why do you think we are remembering our other lives? They mutilated us, and everything bad that could happen did. We were both making all the wrong decisions, and events that occurred felt like they shouldn’t have. Since we know our other lives were tampered with, shouldn’t we forget them now that we are here?” She shuddered, remembering her past life’s darkness.

Dale pulled her closer as he spoke, “When I was trapped in the Black Lodge I had a lot of time for reflection. My teacher at the Tibetan monastery shared with me a Buddhist adage that states life is suffering. This adage is meant to remind us to appreciate the good times and learn from those periods of pain. I think remembering what happened to us in the other timeline will keep us from forgetting what we have learned and what it took to get us here.“

Dale saw how his words brought Audrey peace in her nod of acceptance and soft smile – and yet those same words trigged hidden memories for him. Deep within, a terrible realization surfaced.

“What is it? “ Audrey asked, responding to the frown that crossed his gentle face.

“I… I can’t tell you. I don’t want to hurt you.” He began closing himself off to her, something he was used to doing.

“Please let me know what’s happening with you. You know I’m strong.”

Audrey’s words hit their mark. Yes, she absolutely was strong, truly the strongest person Dale had ever met. He inwardly chastised himself for underestimating her all those years and lifetimes ago.

Exhaling, he drew courage from the unwavering love in her eyes. “I guess part of my pain and learning is that I also remember everything my doppelganger did. When I think about how he violated you when you were in the hospital… in a coma… after the bank explosion… that was never supposed to be our first time… never what I dreamed for us… Audrey, I am so sorry.” Tears spilled down his cheeks in repentance.

“Oh Dale,” Audrey whispered, her heart aching at his misery. She kissed his tears, absorbing the pain of each one returning love and comfort in their place. She focused all her compassion upon him and after a while he looked at her. His eyes were bright and vulnerable as a broken child’s. This good, kind man – how could he ever think she would stop loving him, let alone blame him for actions that weren’t his own?

“Dale,” she said tipping up his chin, “I knew it wasn’t you. And now,” she paused waiting for her words to be accepted, “and now none of it has happened.”

She smiled empathically, smoothing back a thick lock of his hair that had fallen forward. Clearly he hadn’t expected her reaction. The other timeline had prepared him for disappointment and he was reacting in the conditioning he had learned there. He took a while to drink her in and she gave him all the time he needed, reinforcing her presence by staying right where she was. No way was she going to leave him.

Renewed by her patient compassion Dale molded her protectively to his body. It relieved him greatly that she didn’t pull back, that she still trusted him.

“You are so special, Audrey. After all you have been through you are still open and loving. There are certain kinds of souls that glimmer and yours is that kind. I remember seeing it during bardo, filled with light and innocent wonder. You allowed me to bathe in its glow and I was healed by its beauty. I can’t thank you enough.” He gently caressed her back and felt her sigh at his touch.

“You healed me too,” Audrey said, breathing in his clean male warmth. “Practically my entire adult life was a purgatory of dreams and insanity. You took all of that away with a touch.” She caressed his cheek happy that he leaned into her hand. “And what about your beautiful soul? How does it feel now?” She remembered its rich blue color and how she felt safe surrounded by its dense energy.

“Oh, it will manage. It always does,” he smiled softly, wanting to shield her from his lingering distress.

Audrey felt his pain in spite of his efforts to protect her from it. She never wanted him to suffer again.

“I want to show you something,” she said reaching for her purse on the nightstand. “Look.” She said unfolding the compact mirror she had pulled from it.

Dale complied and after spending some time peering into her looking glass he spoke in wonder. “I’m young again.” It took a moment to register the youth that he was seeing.

“We both are,” Audrey said.

“You are eternally young to me, but it didn’t occur to me that I would ever be young again.” He brushed her hair with his fingers, working toward an explanation. “What I feel on the inside doesn’t match with the outside. My being feels so ancient.” Well, it was, after all.

Audrey took his hand. “I know, and it may take some time to reconcile, but realizing how old your soul is doesn’t mean that you can’t feel light. Those who are venerable often appear to be the most youthful and light hearted.” As she relayed this deep knowledge, she could see the wheels turning her words over in that elegant brain of his.

After diligent deliberation Dale spoke. “You are wise beyond your years and because of your years, Audrey Horne.”

“In which timeline?” She asked, coyly, shifting their mood toward the light.

“All of them,” he said, some of the twinkle returning to his eyes.

Her words lessened his pain. Judy no longer had a hold on him. It was now his choice to allow happiness into his being and to avail himself of the powers of the multiverse. He hadn’t realized he had been closed to them. Audrey opened him to all their possibilities.

With that intent firmly in place, he said, “I will never let darkness keep us apart ever again.” The recollections of his past life would always be with him, but they were now filed in the lessons section of his memory palace.

“And I will never leave you,” she stated confidently and leaned in for a kiss to seal her promise.

When their lips touched, all lingering past life pain lifted. At this newfound lightness Dale felt euphoric and saw Audrey basking in her own euphoria. He turned them so they were lying next to each other in their bed. Their hands began exploring the planes of their bodies and they relaxed into a physical pleasure that came easily between them – two soulmates joined at last.

“You are the best part of me,” Dale said as his kisses journeyed down her neck.

“And you’re the best part of me,” she said breathlessly as his lips found the rose of her breast. He loved her gently, gentler that she ever dreamed in either lifetime. And he knew just how to please her, for he had spent lifetimes dreaming of doing so.

“Let’s become one,” he asked, his words a prayer, his eyes her sanctuary.

“We are always one,” she replied and was at last rewarded with his open, glorious smile – the smile she longed to see that he shared in the beginning of their friendship when he was discovering the nature that surrounded him in Twin Peaks. She was humbled that he used that smile with her.

“If you lose your way to me, I will always find you.” She ran her fingers through the thick velvet of his hair as he continued his journey down her torso, stopping every once in a while to worship her with his eyes. He was so beautiful in this unguarded moment.

Taking her radiant smile as permission he continued to his destination. “You are my beacon in the dark,” he whispered against her thigh. “Shine your light on me now,” he said as his tongue parted her petals, making love to her with his mouth. “Open for me, Audrey,” he beckoned inhaling the sweet scent of her arousal, his eyes dark with passion.

Dale did little to coax Audrey to surrender herself to his love. He spoke tender words of encouragement as she began to voice her sounds of pleasure. His tongue swirled around her bud and soon her center was weeping moisture. He carefully inserted one finger, then two inside her. Finding her special spot he caressed it lovingly as his tongue continued to swirl titillating circles around her little pink shoot, its hardness encouraging his own growing need.

Audrey arched her back while waves of pleasure built in her belly. Dale had transformed her into a wild creature feasting on the delight he provided. With each swirl of his tongue her belly coiled tighter and the heat between her legs grew as warm as the sun. Soon she felt heat spreading though her lower back, her climax hitting hard and true while she cried out full and glorious during her release.

Dale kissed Audrey’s folds as her orgasm subsided and drank her dew, licking the residual moisture from her thighs. She tasted like honey and musk, her nectar feeding him generously. Finished with his ministrations he folded her into arms, basking in the scent of her on him that claimed his body for her own – his beauty, his soulmate.

Before long he felt the light weight of her legs straddling him, her soft fingers gripping his hardness as she coaxed his own surrender. He reached up to caress her dove soft breasts, but she stopped him.

“Please, Dale, just receive. You deserve to receive,” she spoke gently between strokes.

He listened to her, allowing himself the pleasure she unselfishly gave him. Her lovely tongue lapped at his tip swirling his own nectar around the top. Her beautiful red mouth engulfed him, her tongue caressing his length, causing him to tremble with rapture. Her knowledge of his body was ancient. They had been made for each other and they were fulfilling their destiny.

Fire began to build inside him, but he wanted to bring her along with him so they could experience their first opening together. Gently he lifted her face and kissed her lavish lips that had so lovingly pleased him. Wordlessly they performed their own ballet as he shifted her underneath him.

Audrey sighed and spread her legs while he parted her with his hardness. She took him in hand and rubbed the tip of him against her bud caressing her opening with his length in welcome. Slowly he slid into her, his fullness filling her completely, perfectly. She rejoiced in the completion.

Dale began moving inside her, listening to her body, giving of himself freely, giving her everything she wanted. She embraced him with her warm walls, her full hips matching him stroke for stroke, and his hands gripped the supple melons of her round bottom, as he pressed further into her folds. Love swelled inside him as he caressed her with his hardness, the only part of him that could completely join with her. To feel such bodily love and spiritual love was transforming.

His rhythm increased and she spread her thighs wider, wantonly accepting his thickness. He pulled himself almost out of her and she watched in ecstasy how he then completely filled her. She reached to touch her bud, but he smiled gently at her and changed his angle so his length could kiss it.

His sensuous gesture pushed her further to the precipice and she threw her head back in abandon. Knowing she was close brought his own control to the brink. His hand tilted her chin up as he continued his rhythm. “Look at me, Audrey. Look and me,” he said softly. “Come for me, love.”

Dale’s tender beckoning unleashed Audrey’s fire. As she fell apart she felt him go with her. His dark eyes fixed upon her own, revealing every feeling he had for her. It was ravishing to be in the presence of such intense adulation.

Audrey was pure, untamed beauty as she gazed at Dale through every part of their climax. He felt the sting of tears behind his eyes at her openness, and she her own in answer to his as they held each other, content and sated.

As their bodies calmed in each other’s arms their energy mingled together surrounding them in gold and blue hues. Dale smiled at her, the intense love in his eyes stealing Audrey’s breath. He basked in the new memories of their shared tenderness and physical communion. Her loving was sustenance. Together they had rejoiced in their bodies and healed their souls. Their dreams of a great love had been realized, their chance at correction fulfilled.

A fragrant breeze drifted through the window, a sign to Dale that they should perhaps get on with their morning. “Miss Horne, what would you like to do on the first day of our new life?” he asked, gallantly.

“I’m doing it. I’m living a life full of love with the man I always wanted.” Dale turned to look at her intently and was surprised to find a mischievous look on her face. “And now I want to doze a little until we have to get ready for lunch with our friends at the Double R.”

“Ah, yes. Norma said she had a new pie recipe she wanted to try out on me. I know what I am going to dream about while we’re napping.” He smacked his lips in anticipation and grinned at her.

“You’re not going to dream about me?” Audrey mock pouted.

“Of course I am. Whom do you think I’m going to share the pie with?” They laughed together and Dale relished the newfound lightness that graced him, the lightness that Audrey opened him to. The woman he was going to spend eternity with was in his arms. This was all he wanted and needed.

* * *

Gephel and The Fireman viewed the screen in the great hall watching as events in the corrupted timeline corrected themselves.

The first scene showed Leland Palmer guided by Sarah and Laura’s love light to their haven. They shared an embrace of forgiveness and together remembered their purpose.

The Fireman explained, “Laura was my gift to your world. Her purpose was to amplify love and by doing so cancel the negative imbalance leashed upon you. Laura chose Sarah and Leland to be her parents because of their great capacity to love. None of us predicted that Judy would find them and use them so terribly.” The Fireman lowered his head in shame and the monk placed a compassionate hand upon his shoulder.

“Watch. Love is still the key. Send the screen your intents and you will see,” Gephel encouraged.

As the scene continued, the Palmers left their haven to return to their home on the morning of Laura’s twelfth birthday. The lights in their home dimmed and the low vibration that signified Judy’s arrival cracked through the air. But this time the Palmers were ready. They joined hands and began to vibrate on a high frequency that proved painful for Judy and her minions. Light emanated from the Palmers and a high vibration began to shake the space they occupied. Judy and her spawn cried out in pain and disintegrated where they stood leaving no trace of their existence. Balance was restored and the Palmers were free to live their lives on their own terms.

Another scene revealed widow Josie Packard in the Twin Peaks police station conference room confessing her involvement with an international drug ring to FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper and his colleague Denise Bryson of the DEA while Sheriff Harry Truman observed.

Josie said Laura Palmer, with whom she studied English, had persuaded her to tell the truth. Josie had thought to escape her past life of crime by marrying Andrew Packard, of the Packard Sawmill. She had met Andrew in Hong Kong at a business mixer that she was attending under the guise of a high fashion designer, her cover for her drug activities. Desperate to leave that part of her life behind, she accepted Andrew’s marriage proposal and moved to Twin Peaks. Being born into something didn’t automatically brand one with its path, she reasoned.

Her former drug business associate, Thomas Eckhardt, showed up in 1987 and threatened he would kill her husband if she didn’t work with him to push his drugs to compete with the Renault brothers’ empire. When she didn’t comply, he murdered Packard and said he would expose her past life to all her friends and adopted family if she didn’t work for him. Trapped and feeling she had no choice she began working for Eckhardt once again.

When she fell in love with Harry Truman she could no longer live the lie. The kindness and love she felt from Laura allowed Josie to confide her troubles in her and by doing so Laura convinced Josie to go to the police station and tell her story to all that would listen.

After revealing her involvement, Josie believed she had lost everything, but Harry told her she did the right thing and that he loved her even more for being so brave. Denise couldn’t guarantee that Josie would be completely spared from serving time, but she could make sure that Josie would at least have a lesser sentence for aiding them in their case.

The screen shifted again to further in the past. A young Ed Hurley (Big Ed to his friends) and his high school sweetheart Norma Blackburn were arguing on the football field. Ed had caught Norma flirting with his football teammate Hank Jennings after practice.

When he asked her why, she said she felt that Ed always took her for granted and only once told her that he loved her. Hank always told her he loved her and gave her flowers every day. Big Ed responded by saying that Hank was a bad guy and was always telling girls he loved them and giving them flowers to get in their pants. He also thought that he only needed to tell Norma that he loved her once because when one was declaring something of great importance saying it all the time took away its meaning and that he wasn’t taking her for granted by trusting her. Norma, infuriated at Ed’s crass assessment of Hank, didn’t speak to Ed for a week; and Ed, fearing at how mad Norma was at him, felt she didn’t hear his honest words.

The scene ended and faded in to a week later, where Ed saw Norma crying while heading into the women’s restroom. Ed stopped her and asked her why she was. Norma said she had seen Hank kissing another girl. She told Big Ed she thought it was because she wouldn’t go all the way with him – and she wouldn’t go all the way with him because she kept remembering what Ed had said to her the week before about his love being of great importance and how he trusted her. Norma kissed him then and said she was a fool. Ed kissed her back and told her he was a bigger one for not telling her he loved her more often. From then on they promised to talk to one another openly, and Ed told her frequently that he loved her. Hell, she was the love of his life.

Moving further back in time the screen revealed little Leland Palmer playing on the front lawn of his grandfather’s vacation home in Pearl Lakes, Washington. The abandoned house next door was creepy and Leland never wanted to go there, but sometimes he thought he heard people talking to him from it, and that made him really curious. _A strange feeling passed over him as if he felt this had all happened before._ When he walked up the stairs to put his head against the front door to hear if there really were people in there, his mother called him back to the house. When he got back to his own front door she pulled him inside, hugging him close and told him to stay away from that place because it was abandoned and evil resided there. When he asked how she knew, she said the Hills, an American Indian family that lived in Twin Peaks, told her; and further advised her, if her family ever encountered evil, that they surround themselves with love.

Too curious to listen to his mother, Leland went to the house next door the following day – but this time he surrounded himself with his mother’s love. It was represented in the form of her warm sweater and wrapped around him. As he approached the door he heard voices, but when he projected his mother’s love in front of him he heard a howl and a loud pop as if something exploded. He discovered the door was unlocked and when he opened it he saw a big puff of smoke, ashes, what looked like torn up pieces of blue jeans and lots of long stringy hair all over the place. His five-year-old mind dismissed it as remnants from a past homeless person and he shut the door and went exploring around the side of the house.

When he got to the side facing his grandfather’s home he saw a mother raccoon climbing down from the roof with her three babies. She stopped to see if the small human meant her any harm. When he smiled at her she trilled and methodically helped her little ones down the side of the house and trotted off to the woods where Leland knew there was a stream where all critters went to drink and eat the food that was living in it. From that day on he thought he was silly to think there was evil in that old, abandoned home. It was just the raccoons that were chattering to him.

The screen changed again, moving a bit forward in time. Dale Cooper as a teenager had had a bad dream about a man who tried to get in his door. His mother told him to send him away. A little over a year later his mother told him she’d had the same dream. Dale told her he loved her, that he would look out for the man and he would chase him off with his love. His mother hugged him and told him how lucky she was to have him. Dale’s precise mind thought all of this was a metaphor and that there was some deeper meaning he was missing. He hoped to discover the answer so he could tell his mother that he understood her lesson. A few days passed but he failed to find it.

Two weeks later Dale’s dream brought him to the man who was trying to break down his mother’s door. Dale manifested the love he felt for his mother and hurled it at the man as a golden ball. He had long shaggy hair, was dressed in denim and his smile was gnashing teeth and pure evil. Dale’s love ball hit the hairy man square in the chest. He howled and disintegrated leaving nothing behind, except his sleeping mother, of course.

When Dale woke the next morning he had convinced himself it was all a nightmare, but his mother soon appeared at his side and held him like when he was small declaring that he had saved her life. Huh, so much for a metaphor. Dale vowed that when he was older he would study with some serious Tibetan monk scholar to get to the bottom of what all this meant.

Gephel turned his head from the screen momentarily, grinned at The Fireman, then returned to his watching posture.

The screen moved a little more forward in time to reveal a college-aged Leland Palmer crooning “I’ve Got You Under My Skin’ outside the dorm window that housed one Sarah Novak. Sleepily she came to the window and opened it, scolding Leland for his theatrics. Inwardly, though, she thought he was handsome and loved watching him in the college plays. He was dashing and hilarious as Fred Graham in last year’s production of _Kiss Me Kate_ , and she often dreamed of running off with him to Hollywood when they graduated.

Returning from her musings she told him to stop singing so loud at such an unwholesome hour and he said he would if she promised to be Laurey to his Curly in _Oklahoma_ next spring. How could she refuse? It was a dream come true, and all those voice lessons her parents had paid for were finally going to pay off.

The screen moved forward to a few weeks later. Leland and Sarah were sitting by a stream on campus watching the stars in the sky. The crisp snap of cold and a waning moon signified the beginning of autumn. She confessed to Leland that when she was small sometimes in the middle of the night when she was dreaming a woman would whisper to her to come out and play. It was during this kind of moon when the woman would do so. Sarah was afraid and never wanted to play with her. When Leland asked if the woman would still come around Sarah said no. She found that if she thought about someone who loved her, the woman would vanish.

One night after an especially frightening dream, Sarah’s mother came to her and held her. As Sarah fell asleep in her mother’s arms she saw the woman peeking through her window. In her dream her mother covered her with something. Sarah woke at that moment to find her mother still with her in the bed. Sarah asked why she was there and her mother said she’d seen a woman trying to get in Sarah’s window. Her mother told Sarah she covered her with a blanket of love that seemed to hurt the woman trying to get to her, and when the woman touched the blanket she disintegrated.

Leland held Sarah and thanked her for sharing such a personal story and told her about his raccoons. They agreed that whatever those childhood dreams were, it was love that resolved them. The moon drifted lower in the sky and Leland walked Sarah home to her dorm. Senior year was going to be the best year ever, thought Leland. When he got back to his room he put another $20 bill in his piggy bank toward The Sarah Novack Engagement Ring Fund.

The screen moved forward in time again and landed on a scene between a teenaged James Hurley and Laura Palmer. James was mustering up the courage to ask Laura to the senior prom, bracing himself for rejection. Laura already knew what he was up to and couldn’t wait to see the surprise on his face when she said “yes”.

After the moment transpired James asked Laura why she had accepted so quickly and she said he was the only one who had that special light in him, the light that complemented her own. It was something that she’d always known from the time she was small and she always knew that she loved him, too. He held her tenderly in his arms, honored by her love.

As the screen moved forward to the night of the prom it revealed Laura and James dancing a slow dance while a disco ball scattered light like fairy dust over the dance floor. Emanating from them was a rich glow of pale blue and emerald green, their shared energy affecting everyone on the dance floor: making them feel giddy and light. The adults chalked it up to someone spiking the punch, but Laura and James knew better. Together they promised to be ambassadors of light and love.

The Fireman looked over at Gephel and softly beamed his pride. His lovely gift and her mate were together at last. He shifted his vision toward the screen. Gephel chuckled at his new friend’s happiness.

The screen left the Twin Peaks senior prom and coalesced on Dale Cooper as a young FBI agent talking to Caroline Earle, the wife of his partner and mentor, Windom Earle, in a safe house. Caroline was concerned Windom was going insane from working on too many violent cases over the years. Dale believed this to be true as well, which was why the Bureau placed her there with Dale as her protection. When Caroline professed her love for Dale he gently deflected it. He told her what she needed right now was a friend she could trust, and that Earle probably had set them up to fall in love.

Caroline was disappointed, but Dale’s actions saved their lives. Dale set a trap for Earle by telling his colleagues to reveal the location of the safe house. Dale then called for backup so that when Earle returned expecting to kill Dale and Caroline in the act he ended up dying himself, shot by one of his colleagues.

Dale told Caroline he would always care for her, but he knew that the urge to protect and the feeling of true love were entirely different things. He hoped that she could realize that her love for him was born of a betrayal by her husband and that she deserved someone she could truly love under healthy circumstances. They parted amicably and Caroline did find the love of her life a couple of years later. Dale took some time off from the Bureau to study at the Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Dharamsala, India to work through the death of his mentor and to explore the power of love.

The screen fluctuated and brought them closer to the new present, where a festive scene was unfolding. Dale and Audrey walked through the door of the Double R diner where they were greeted by Harry, Hawk, Andy, Lucy and Big Ed. The room was filled with their other friends including the Palmer, Hayward and Briggs families.

Shelly was handing out special menus that Norma had made in honor of Audrey’s graduation from The University of Pennsylvania. The menu included Quiche Lorraine and Crêpes Suzette – two of Audrey’s favorite French dishes – and a new seasonal fruit pie for Dale, which included cherries, raspberries and tayberries.

As Dale seated Audrey at a booth, Josie stopped over to greet them and was honored that Audrey was wearing Josie’s a graduation gift – a beautiful pale blue cashmere sweater that Josie designed and was selling in her boutique in Twin Peaks.

Right on cue, Benjamin Horne burst in the door with his wife Sylvia and Audrey’s older brother Johnny, declaring that is was a beautiful day to be alive. They joined Dale and Audrey in the booth and Benjamin Horne slapped Dale on the back, glad to see his future son-in-law. It was Audrey’s turn to blush bright red. Dale took it in stride, smiling congenially. It was, after all, what he was planning to do – marry Audrey, that is.

Johnny had just returned from a business trip to Japan. He had all kinds of stories to share with his kid sister and began launching into the virtues of sushi and how that should be added to the Great Northern’s menu, and how a more Japanese aesthetic could be applied to the hotel rooms. Sylvia laughed at her son who had always been a dreamer. She wouldn’t have him change a thing.

Meals were served, pleasantries were exchanged and life continued to move forward peacefully – unfettered by multi-dimensional, dark influences – in the quaint, little town of Twin Peaks.

Hawk, undetected, walked over from his booth and looked up sensing a presence. When he located the source, he stared directly up at the screen and smiled at The Fireman knowingly. The Fireman, known to Hawk as The Light, smiled back down at his White Lodge protector. The monk smiled in surprise.

The screen faded and The Fireman turned to Gephel, a serene expression upon his face. “This is how it was supposed to be and how it is now. Tragedy and triumph will still occur in your world, but now there is – balance.“

“Yes – positive and negative energy – the dance between them is eternal – and that is the nature of things,” Gephel reinforced. “Now that you are back on your path I must take my leave of you.”

“Please wait. I have questions – that is, if you won’t mind answering them.” The Fireman was accountable for his actions and knew he must have those answers for his peers. Gephel was the only one that could supply them.

“I am listening,” Gephel said, patiently.

The Fireman considered his words, then spoke. “How is it that you know so much about the nature of things?”

Gephel smiled, obligingly. “My people are connected to the multiverse. This connection begins with mediation. Meditation creates deep reflection inside as well as opening one up to the deep knowledge within our multiverse. Past, present, future, alternate timelines, universes – these are all relevant and irrelevant. It is up to you ultimately to choose your path.”

The Fireman nodded in appreciation. “I thank you for your explanation. I do not know how I got so far off my path and how I could not anticipate the unfolding of such events.”

“You must not judge yourself.” Gephel touched The Fireman’s arm comforting him. “Everything is connected. All these events had their purpose. Dale Cooper would not have learned about the importance of accepting love in the other timeline and his bardo if Judy’s interference hadn’t existed. And, you, my friend, would not have learned about love’s importance either, had you not experienced what you perceived as your failure. Not anticipating these events opened you up to important learning – and, as you see, everything turned out as it should.” Finished with his answers Gephel smiled enigmatically at The Fireman.

“I am humbled. I know not how to repay you,” The Fireman said at a loss.

The monk smiled widely and replied, “You may repay me by answering a question.”

“Of course,” The Fireman said obligingly.

“What is your name?”

Surprise crossed The Fireman’s features. “I never told you?”

“No,” the monk said, amused. For a moment everything was still – and then both beings belly laughed deeply.

Regaining control of himself, The Fireman finally answered, “I am called by a few names including The Light, The Giant and The Fireman. You may call me any of these things, but what I do hope you will call me is friend.” He smiled gently.

“Friend it is!” Gephel boomed, then, distracted by something he cocked his head as if he were receiving a message. “I must go now. Young Dale is coming out of his first meditation in the corrected timeline and he will need me to process his journey.”

The two beings smiled warmly at one another and grasped their arms. Upon separating the monk bowed and abruptly evaporated. The Fireman gazed at the empty space which he’d occupied moments ago and experienced illumination.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow – I wrote my first ever sex scene. It seemed necessary to illustrate the different kinds of love that manifest on different planes. For me, Dale and Audrey’s love transcends all dimensions. I hope you all enjoyed it!
> 
> I referred to Hawk’s family as American Indians because that was the convention at the time Leland was a little boy. This was not meant to offend, but was used only in the spirit of accuracy. That and I have a few Native American friends that prefer to be called American Indian very much as I prefer to be referred to as half Oriental rather than half Asian. I appreciate the reasoning behind political correctness, even if it misses the mark sometimes. The fact is we are all people and I dream of a time when we all can look at each other and only feel that. Sorry – I digress!
> 
> Most of you probably know this, but just in case: the Varied Thrush that Dale heard singing at the opening of this chapter is the bird that you see in its female or immature form during the opening credits of the original Twin Peaks series. To learn about these cute little guys and hear what they sound like, here’s a link about them at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:
> 
>  
> 
> <https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Varied_Thrush/id>
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for your continued support. You all energize me!
> 
> Yours, B. G. Kuro


	7. Epilogue: The Ultimate Dream

“We are like the dreamer who dreams and then lives in the dream.”

\- The Upanishads

  
Photo Credit - Darque and Lovely

**Washington State – Somewhere along I-90 West – Monday July 11th, 1994 – Corrected Timeline**

“Diane, I am in the car with my newly wedded bride, one Mrs. Audrey Horne-Cooper, and we are traveling northwest on Interstate 90 to begin our honeymoon. We will first take the ferry from Anacortes, Washington to Victoria, British Colombia. Two weeks of dining, sightseeing, wine tasting and camping are planned. What’s that, Mrs. Horne-Cooper? Ah, yes, and not to forgot high tea at the Empress Hotel.

One more thing before I sign off – two cases of Artist Series Cabernet Sauvignon from Woodward Canyon winery in Lowden, Washington are on their way. They have been producing this vintage for a few years now and it is top notch. One case is for you and the other is for Gordon when he returns to the office. Albert is not allowed any because of the incident at our wedding reception. I did not realize how much of a lightweight he is. After a few glasses of wine he thought the Log Lady – I mean Mrs. Lanterman – was the assistant coroner that he hit it off with at our pre-wedding party hosted by the Twin Peaks Sheriff Department. How can you mistake one person for the other, I ask you? They are entirely two different types, and one woman, well, carries a log.

However, I digress. Regarding the wine, Audrey and I had a bottle of said Cabernet at the Great Northern last night with her family in the private dinning room. It was paired with a delicious Elk Wellington. I think Gordon will get a kick out of it because the label features a painting by a local artist, displaying an autumnal motif and entitled Indian Summer, and as he loves red wine and art he will be experiencing both simultaneously – mmmphh – Audrey… hey!”

“Diane, this is Audrey. I did exactly what you said to take his tape recorder away and it worked. We’ll see you when we’re back.”

Dale wiped the residual lipstick off his lips and chuckled at her tactics. “I think I need to inform Agent Bryson about that maneuver. It will come in handy for her. Is this something you’re going to use regularly once you’re in the field?”

“Only when certain special agents need convincing,” Audrey said, smirking.

“This is pretty lethal. I have my work cut out for me to discover a counter measure,” Dale said, laughing.

“I’m sure you’ll think of something, handsome.” Audrey winked wickedly, then grinned when Dale blushed. His embarrassment prompted her to slide across the seat of their rental car and snuggle up against her newly wedded husband. “I love you” she said in earnest.

“I love you, too,” he affirmed, equally so.

It had been the very best adventure committing to a relationship with Audrey. And now she was his wife. He didn’t need to ask how he had been so lucky. They both knew - and if one were to tell the story it certainly wouldn’t play like a romantic comedy. Yet the way he felt in this moment was far better than any fairy tale.

After Audrey’s graduation from the University of Pennsylvania, she had taken a year off to live with Dale in his apartment, interning at the Philadelphia Bureau to see if the FBI was really for her. She took to it as he did – fervently and naturally. He was so proud of her, but also worried about the danger she would encounter when she became a full-fledged special agent – his special agent, he mused. Whenever he would worry, though, he remembered his teacher’s advice in the Tibetan monastery about letting events unfold as they should. It was a comfort and he truly felt that Audrey was on the right path. He made a promise to himself to stay out of her way; but if circumstances dictated, he would keep her safe. Old habits died hard in both timelines.

During his reverie Audrey had fallen asleep. Dale kissed her forehead and carefully removed his arm from around her so she could settle into a more comfortable position. The open highway was a metaphor for what lay ahead of them. The possibilities seemed infinite.

* * *

“Audrey, honey, wake up,” Dale coaxed. They had arrived at the ferry terminal in Anacortes and were waiting in line to embark. Late afternoon sunlight was dancing on the waves of Ship Harbor and a light breeze stirred the strands of his love’ s hair.

Audrey stretched elegantly, moving herself toward wakefulness. “Are we at the ferry?” she asked, sleepily.

“Yes, but I want you to see something. Look over there.” Dale spoke softly and pointed to the left.

Audrey looked where he was gesturing. Through the car window she saw a vibrantly colored scene. A celadon sun was setting over an emerald field with the sky blazing an ultramarine blue.

“Oh, Dale!” she said, astonished.

“You’re thinking it, too?” he asked.

“It’s just like the scene we stepped into –”

“ – in our life between lives. Yes.” Dale took her hand and kissed the back of it, his dark eyes shining with emotion.

“It was beginning to feel like a dream,” Audrey whispered, “but now to see the same place… ” She stopped talking awed by what they were seeing, caressing the strands of his thick hair for purchase.

“Everything is a dream, Audrey. We dream those dreams, then choose which ones we want to live in.” He put his arms around her, luxuriating in the closeness of her.

“Then every dream I choose has you in it,” she said, genuinely.

Moved, Dale brushed his lips upon his wife’s and felt a burst of their shared soul energy – something that he remembered from his bardo but rarely experienced on this plane. The burst created a shift that they both felt, turning the last tumbler firmly into place locking their paths together.

The line began to move, breaking their moment. All things have a beginning and an end. Dale turned the engine back on, put the gear in drive and drove his beautiful wife and himself toward the beginning of their honeymoon and their lives together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you didn’t know, there really is a ferry to Victoria, BC from Anacortes, WA, and my husband and I took it and truly enjoyed our time in BC, doing most of the things that Dale and Audrey have planned to do. Woodward Canyon is also a real winery and their Artist Series is truly top notch! If interested, the link to the winery is here:
> 
> <https://www.woodwardcanyon.com/>
> 
> The seeds of inspiration for this story were planted by Rinaldo Zoontjes’s beautiful manipulation of Fabian Perez’s The Embrace. I saw it on Tumblr in July and it inspired me to write a poem for it entitled “Prophecy”. After that the seeds germinated until The Return’s finale and then bloomed into what you have just read. If interested, the link to the manip and my poem is here:
> 
> <http://bgkuro.tumblr.com/post/162962891842/prophecy>
> 
> Thank you all for your support and for being with me along my Twin Peaks fan fiction journey. May Dale and Audrey’s love continue to shine!
> 
> Namaste, B. G. Kuro


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